


Under The Mirror Of The Surface

by AceOfFates



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Getting Back Together, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Break Up, Post-Kingdom Hearts III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 02:29:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20807027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceOfFates/pseuds/AceOfFates
Summary: So here we go head first, no regrets and no rulesWe can stay as long as we wantSlow dancing in the darknessAnd all I know is I wanna be here with you from now on- Aquaman, Walk The MoonAfter over four and a half years, Roxas asks Sora to dance.





	Under The Mirror Of The Surface

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [ad perpetuum](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/523439) by parahelios. 

> Inspired by Astra's excellent break up au which I love very much. I started writing this in chat before she'd written in a happy ending LMAO
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy- there's a lot of lines I'm very attached to in this. Also, title and summary from the song "Aquaman" by Walk The Moon which fits this fic very well :) (And if you leave me a comment you will immediately get all of my love and affection just sayn)

The sixth annual keyblade and other heroes of light Christmas dinner had been going- well, about as well as it usually goes; which is to say Lea had definitely set something on fire within the first 30 minutes. There's laughter and alcohol and general good cheer- Riku is sloppily singing along to the carol playing over the speakers while twirling a giggling Naminé around the room. Across the room Roxas sits at the foot of the couch, leaning back to chat with Terra and Hayner who seem to be arguing about who knows what. As if he could sense Sora's staring, Roxas shifts his gaze to make eye contact.

It's gotten better. The ache in his chest isn't all encompassing anymore, he doesn't run upstairs to hide in the guestroom when he hears Roxas arrive at the party. They can even smile politely at each other from across the room, Roxas nodding before going back to add something to Terra and Hayner's argument. He's glad they can stand to be in the same room again. And given enough time, Sora's sure he can move on too.

The night goes on- more alcohol is consumed- and Sora excuses himself to start cleaning up the mess he'd made earlier in the kitchen. He's scrubbing the bottom of the roasting pan when a pair of hands carrying more dirty dishes appears to place them in the sudsy sink.

"Sorry," Roxas says and he's smiling bashfully, a pleasant flush evident across his cheeks.

"No worries," Sora says back and Roxas' smile gets a little wider and Sora wonders how much he's had to drink. He expects Roxas to wander back to the party but instead he hops up onto the counter, staring off at the clock (an old vintage thing that looks like a cat) on the opposite wall.

Well. It's a free world, he can do what he wants. Sora goes back to scrubbing the roasting pan.

Beyond the confines of the kitchen Sora can hear the music- someone's evidently gotten tired of the Christmas songs and is now playing upbeat 90s music- and the occasional burst of laughter or particularly loud conversation. Roxas kicks his legs against the base of the counter to the beat of whatever song is currently playing.

Sora's almost done with this damn roasting pan, then he can do the remaining dishes and go upstairs and crash. It's only- yikes, 12:47AM, which means if he finishes the dishes by one he'd get roughly six hours of sleep if he wanted to get up early enough to make breakfast for everyone staying over-

"Hey," Roxas says suddenly, legs pausing in their swinging, "dance with me."

The music has changed again, instead of upbeat pop music the slow somber notes of a ballad filter in through the door.

Sora narrows his eyes. Roxas is leaning over, peering at him with curious eyes and a warm inviting smile. It feels like a trap- and Roxas is definitely not thinking straight- it's been so good lately. He doesn't want to screw up-

"C'mon," Roxas says, hopping down off the counter and offering a hand out to Sora, "it's fine."

Sora considers it for a moment, shakes his hands off over the sink and gently takes Roxas' hand. Roxas beams at him, pulling him in closer so he can put a hand on Sora's shoulder and begins gently swaying back and forth to the music.

It's. Nice. Even long after the ballad has ended and more shitty pop music begins filling the spaces in between them, they continue with their gentle swaying.

Roxas shifts and drops his head onto Sora's shoulder, mumbling into the fabric of Sora's shirt, "I missed you."

Sora chuckles because of course this is his life, isn't it? Roxas stops moving. From the living room comes a loud burst of, "I WANT IT THAT WAY-" that Sora thinks might be Lea, Ventus and Riku.

"You're just drunk," Sora says.

This is ridiculous. They're standing in the middle of Aqua's kitchen, there's a sink full of dirty dishes and a bunch of their drunken friends singing along to boy band pop music one room away. In any other circumstances this would have been perfect. If they were still dating and just stealing themselves away for a moment of privacy after a busy, bustling day. Instead it just feels like the universe is mocking him. 

Roxas moves back, one hand still on Sora's shoulder, to stare him in the eye. His pupils blown, his face still flushed making the light speckling of freckles stand out against his cheeks. 

"Ask me in the morning."

"What?" Sora says instead of pointing out that, technically, it is the morning.

"Promise. That you'll talk to me in the morning," Roxas insists and doesn't wait for Sora's response, pulling back to leave Sora standing alone and confused in the kitchen.

He's not sure he can promise Roxas that. Maybe if they're both lucky, Roxas will only have a vague idea that he did something embarrassing and Sora won't have to deal with it.

Sighing, Sora looks at the clock just in time to see it chime 1:00AM, the tail swinging back and forth to the seconds. He grabs the first dish on the pile and starts scrubbing.

-

Sunlight streams in between the partially open blinds of the window. The house is quiet now, compared to the loud and lively atmosphere of the party last night it's a welcome relief. Sora had finally crawled into bed at a little after 1:30AM and at some point while he was asleep, Kairi and Riku had crawled in after him. Naminé is curled up in the oversized armchair in the corner, and Sora gently lifts her up to place her onto the bed with RIku and Kairi. They'll probably only be asleep for a little while longer but a little bit of sleep in a proper bed is better than none.

Sora makes his way downstairs, careful to avoid any of the creaky places on the stairs. The living room is a disaster of party decorations, red solo cups and the sleeping forms of most of the people who'd been there last night. Hayner, Olette and Roxas are all squeezed in a pile on the couch- it looks like Pence came prepared with a sleeping bag and is asleep in the perfect position to get stepped on when one of the other three wake up. Xion has taken residence in the loveseat, hand still gripping a cup. Lea is asleep on top of the coffee table with Isa nowhere to be found- either went home or found and claimed a soft surface somewhere else in the house.

He picks up a few errant pieces of garbage- gently removing the still partially full cup from Xion's hand- and makes his way into the kitchen to start making breakfast.

He's glad he made the effort to finish cleaning last night as he starts gathering all the necessary ingredients for a big, greasy breakfast. He starts preheating the oven and gets to work on cracking eggs and slicing bread. He's just putting the bacon in the oven when the door to the kitchen creaks open and a bleary eyed Roxas wanders in, goes straight for the cupboard and downs an entire glass of water.

Sora closes the oven slowly, watching Roxas' throat move as he downs a second glass. Ah- no. That's weird- he moves back to the central island in the kitchen and begins dipping thick slices of bread in egg for french toast.

It's as Sora feared, though, Roxas lingers by the sink.

"Hey," Roxas says suddenly and Sora jumps at the noise, "can I help?"

Sora considers him- dark circles under his eyes (how late did they stay up?), hair ruffled and sticking out in even wilder directions than usual (there's the urge to try and smooth some of it down that Sora resists) but despite that he looks... happy. He's smiling slightly, even if he's also squinting in the bright light of the kitchen.

"Sure, here. You can fry these then," Sora says and moves the plate holding the soaked slices of bread over to the stove where there's already a pan waiting. He goes through the instructions, "Three minutes each side. Don't move them around too much and add more butter if you need to. And don't try and turn the heat up to get them done faster, you'll just burn them."

"Yeesh," Roxas says back with a roll of his eyes and brandishing a pair of tongs that are modeled to look like a pair of white gloves. "I've got it, don't worry."

Roxas doesn't got it. He burns the first two pieces after getting distracted by his phone but the subsequent pieces of toast fare a little better. They work quietly, only the sounds of frying butter and Sora's clinking as he begins putting away and then washing dishes he doesn't need anymore.

Upstairs somebody turns on the shower. Any moment now people in the living room will begin to stir, drifting into the kitchen following the scent of freshly cooked food and brewed coffee. It's their last chance at privacy before the chaos begins, before they get swept up in more festive activity and then both of them will go their separate ways. Sora called to the stars and Roxas back to his life.

_ Promise you'll talk to me in the morning,  _ Roxas had said. Technically! They have spoken. Probably more words than they've said to each other in the last four and a half years! The last time they'd actually had a conversation had been Roxas shakily telling Sora that he had a boyfriend. That Sora couldn't keep cornering him in empty halls or classrooms, trying to replace the hurt in his heart with the swollen ache of kiss bruised lips.

After that Sora had had to find other ways to mask the pain. 

Sora knows Roxas doesn't mean a stilted conversation about how to make French toast.  _ I missed you.  _ What was Sora supposed to do with that? A mumbled, drunken confession that should be left at that. No matter how much Sora wanted, or hoped or wished - 

"Sora? I think that bowl is washed enough." Roxas' voice cuts through Sora's jumbled thoughts like a knife. He gently takes the bowl Sora had been mindlessly scrubbing and rinses it off, placing it in the drying rack to the side of the sink. He's still staring at the dish rack, one hand on the bowl, when he says, "this isn't going the way I imagined it.

"I thought if I just gathered up the courage to talk to you this would be easy," Roxas says turning to face Sora fully, "but I can't really erase four years of avoiding each other just like that, can I?" 

Sora stares straight ahead, Roxas going out of focus as he instead stares at a sauce stained tile on the backsplash.

There's a long sigh from Roxas before he continues, "I wanted to see who I was without you. But you know what's funny? I keep catching myself, especially recently, wanting to talk to you. I've typed out messages who knows how many times without sending them. I meant what I said last night, Sora. I miss you."

Roxas snaps back into focus, Sora abandoning trying to figure out what the stain on the tile is to look Roxas properly in the eyes. He’s smiling tiredly, his eyes crystal clear compared to the slight haziness of when he was drunk. This is real. This is actually happening.

“I,” Sora starts but doesn’t know where to go from there. Anything he can think of to say dries up in his throat like a puddle on a hot summer day. Sora turns away to turn off the tap. He takes a deep breath trying to ground himself but instead he just feels his heart rate quicken; words that are better left unsaid clogging his throat like bile. 

It's a relief when the oven timer goes off, startling Sora back into the present. He immediately goes to take the tray off bacon out of the oven, ignoring the sigh he gets from Roxas, and placing it on the stove.

He's still busying himself, grabbing the tongs and a plate covered with paper towel to put the bacon on, when Roxas says, "please. Talk to me."

"What do you want me to say?" Sora quietly admits. It's easier now. With something to focus on, a goal in mind.

Roxas pushes a long breath through his teeth, even without facing him Sora can see it perfectly in his mind's eye, running a hand through his hair. Sora fiddles with the bacon arrangement on the serving platter. 

"You're always doing things for other people. When's the last time you did something for yourself?" (Last night, when he was too tired to fight and thought Roxas wouldn't remember) "When did you last let someone do something for you?"

Sora hunches his shoulders. This isn't about him, it's never been about him. 

"Sora." There's a hand on his arm. "It's okay. You don't have to protect me from your feelings."

He takes a deep breath, gently placing the tongs down at the same time. Roxas' hand is still on his forearm, warm and solid and real. It's not really a secret that Sora isn't over Roxas, as much as he's tried to keep it bottled up and safely far away from Roxas himself. But if Roxas was going to keep  _ pushing _ , Sora had to do something before one of them cut themselves on the broken edges of his heart.

"I missed you too," Sora admits quietly, his words breaking like glass.

Roxas' hand moves from his arm up to Sora's neck. There's a moment where his touch is feather light and Sora knows he could pull away, should pull away, but then Roxas is gently cupping the side of his jaw with his other hand; pulling him slowly closer.

The kiss is as much of a relief as it is awkward. They don't know each other anymore, Sora still holding himself back just a little. Just in case. Roxas holds him gently, a grip that they both know Sora could break if he decided to. But Roxas is here, kissing Sora as if he'd never stopped.

Tentatively Sora wraps his arms around Roxas chest as the break apart. Roxas leans forward to rest his forehead against Sora's.

"I'm not letting you go again," Roxas whispers. 

"I still have to-" 

"No matter where you go, it doesn't matter. As long as you come home to me."

It's the last piece that chips away at the composure Sora’s been desperately holding on to and he suddenly feels like a cup left under a running tap. Everything hitting at once, tears running down his face and laughter bubbling up from his throat. If he thought slow dancing with Roxas in the kitchen last night was ridiculous, it’s nothing compared to the ludicrousy of this. Four and a half years wasn’t long enough to prepare Sora for this. Hell- Sora’s not sure he ever would have been prepared for this. If he’d known this would happen the day before he probably would have gotten back in his guummi ship and flown far, far away. Roxas' alarm is palpable in the way he starts trying to wipe the tears from Sora's cheeks. He lets himself fall forward, collapsing into Roxas’ chest to bury his tears and laughter into Roxas’ neck.

The hurt still lingers in his heart, the suspicion that things still won’t work out. He’s spent so long worrying, lost in his own head, stuck in a moment of the past but for now he lets his world narrow down to Roxas' arms folding around his back, keeping him steady, and the way Roxas immediately starts whispering nonsense reassurances in his ear to keep him grounded. For this single moment he can forget about the pain and just be.

Not five minutes later Lea will shuffle awkwardly into the kitchen and try to quietly pour himself a cup of coffee. While putting the coffee pot back he manages to knock one off the metal mixing bowls onto the floor, causing Sora to jump backwards and summon his keyblade on instinct. Lea stares sheepishly at the tip of the keyblade, than up to Sora's flushed and tear stained face and then over to Roxas who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. 

"Uh," he says eloquently, "in my defence. You two were taking entirely too long."

The tension bleeds out of Sora's body, keyblade vanishing in a shower of sparks. Another fit of giggles threatens to break the surface as Sora raises his voice so that everyone who definitely aren't huddled around the kitchen door can hear, "yeah, yeah. Breakfast is ready!"


End file.
